Tag: family

Book Review: Party of Liars, by Kelsey Cox   

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Title: Party of Liars
Author: Kelsey Cox     
Genre: Thriller   
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

It’s a killer guest list . . .

DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl

ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house

MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume

KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of . . .

Everyone is invited in. Not everyone will get out alive.

I really never figured out exactly what was going on or who was guilty—of what until the end! Kim was pretty horrible for most of the novel, so much hatred and vitriol and alcohol. I couldn’t figure out if Dani was crazy, or as almost-perfect as she seemed. Sophie and Mikayla seemed like typical teenage girls on the surface, but were they really? Ethan and his friend Curtis were just a little too high-handed, weren’t they? There was a lot going on here, and I was engrossed from the beginning. And what about the dollhouse/mansion? Creepy!

Kelsey Cox lives in the Texas Hill Country. Party of Liars is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Rewind To Us, by Molly Morris

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: Rewind To Us
Author: Molly Morris         
Genre: YA   
Rating: 4 out of 5

Dixie Mulligan only has one plan for her annual California vacation this summer – to tell her best friend Sawyer that she’s in love with him.

It doesn’t matter that things between them technically fell apart over spring break, and they haven’t spoken since – until Dixie arrives and realizes Sawyer has moved on (a fact made very apparent when she sees him kissing, um, someone else).

Luckily, Dixie and her family have each been gifted with a Rewind. All Dixie has to do is go back and redo the moment she thinks doomed hers and Sawyer’s relationship before it even began.

But when family secrets start pouring out, Dixie’s not so sure even her Rewind will be enough to save what she and Sawyer had. Is the damage already done, or can she turn back the clock and give them one more chance?

This was a really cute read! I was just as surprised as everyone else at Dixie’s big reveal—and I didn’t even catch that she was hiding something until then. Her aunt, cousin, and grandma were great characters, and I really liked them. Sawyer an all his quirks and her friendship with him were great! I enjoyed this a lot.

Molly Morris lives in the UK. Rewind to Us is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: A Forgery of Fate, by Elizabeth Lim

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Title: A Forgery of Fate
Author: Elizabeth Lim         
Genre: YA, fantasy  
Rating: 5 out of 5

Truyan Saigas didn’t choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.

Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father’s disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King’s inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms. . . .

This was such a good read! I liked Tru from the beginning, and loved getting to know her. Her sisters were great, too, but I didn’t really like her mother. The world was unique and I enjoyed getting to explore it through Tru’s eyes. (I did have a few quibbles with how easy living and breathing underwater was handles, but I can let that go. The turtles and other undersea characters were fun, and I’d love to read more set in this world.

Elizabeth Lim lives in New York City. A Forgery of Fate is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House Children’s in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Other Side of Now, by Paige Harbison  

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Title: The Other Side of Now
Author: Paige Harbison         
Genre: Fiction   
Rating: 4 out of 5 

With a leading role on a hit TV show and a relationship with Hollywood’s latest heartthrob, Meg Bryan appears to have everything she ever wanted. But underneath the layers of makeup and hairspray, her happiness is as fake as her stage name, Lana Lord. Following a small breakdown at her thirtieth birthday party, she books an impromptu trip where she knows the grass is greener: Ireland. Specifically, the quaint little village where she and her best friend Aimee always dreamt of moving—a dream that fell apart when an accident claimed Aimee’s life a decade ago.

When Meg arrives, the people in town are so nice, treating her not as a stranger, but a friend. Except for the (extremely hot) bartender giving her the cold shoulder. Meg writes it all off as jetlag until she looks in the mirror. Her hair is no longer bleached within an inch of its life, her skin has a few natural fine lines, and her nose looks like… well, her old nose. Her real nose.

Her phone reveals hundreds of pictures of her life in this little town: with an adorable dog she doesn’t know; with the bartender who might be her (ex?) boyfriend; and at a retail job unrelated to acting. Eventually, she comes to accept that she somehow made a quantum slide into an alternate version of her life. But the most shocking realization of all? In this life, her best friend Aimee is alive and well…but wants nothing to do with Meg.

Despite her bewilderment, Meg is clear-eyed about one thing: this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reconnect with her friend and repair what she broke. She finagles an opportunity to act in the play Aimee is writing and directing and as the project unfolds, Meg realizes that events as she remembers them may not be the only truth, and that an impossible choice looms before her.

I can’t even imagine how confusing it would be to wake up in this situation! Meg’s rich and famous life sounds pretty horrible to me, so I can believe her wanting out. Her life in Ireland sounded amazing to me, so I can’t imagine wanting out of that. This was a story that kept me intrigued all along. I liked the characters, and I loved the quirky small town she ended up in—and I’m almost never a fan of small towns! I loved the character growth in this and Meg came to terms with her past and everything that happened.

Paige Harbison lives in L.A. The Other Side of Now is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of t. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Notorious Virtues, by Alwyn Hamilton

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Title: The Notorious Virtues
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Genre: Mystery/thriller, Fantasy, YA   
Rating: 4.8 out of 5

At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.

But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.

And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.

With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.

I really liked this read! Nora was a bit insufferable at first, but she grew on me quickly. Nora knows her family and her world are messed up, but she doesn’t at first realize how badly. I can’t even imagine being in constant competition with my entire family, or how miserable that sort of life would be.

I did not like Lotte at first—she wasn’t a very nice person—but I did feel sympathetic to her. Talk about growing up with gaslighting and emotional abuse. It’s a small wonder she turned out as well as she did. There’s a bit of a Cinderella story for her, but everything wasn’t all sunshine and roses, which was much more believable. I loved this world and can’t wait to read more!

Alwyn Hamilton is a bestselling author. The Notorious Virtues is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin Group in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Wandering Season, by Aimie K. Runyan

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Title: The Wandering Season
Author: Aimie K. Runyan
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Unraveling the tangled roots of her family takes her places she never expected.

Veronica Stratton, a specialty food broker with a business riding close to the margins, visits her parents in idyllic Estes Park for Christmas. With the holiday comes a DNA test from her younger sister and an engagement ring from her longtime boyfriend. The test confirms her secret she’s adopted. The ring rattles her even more, and she realizes that she might not be as ready to commit as she’d thought.

With so much that she’d counted on suddenly falling apart, Veronica is looking for an escape. Inspired by her best friend, she plans to go to Europe to see four of the places listed on her DNA ancestry report. She treks to County Mayo in Ireland; the Dordogne region of France; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Tuscany in Italy. She hopes to learn a bit about where her family lived and to make more connections for her struggling business, but she finds that each stop brings her visions of her ancestors that raise more questions than they answer. And among those pressing questions is how brooding Irish restauranteur Niall Callaghan will fit into her visions for the future.

I really enjoyed this from the very first page. The food aspect was fascinating and made me want to try everything they talked about, and I’ve always loved travel novels like this. (I think that started with Eat, Pray, Love, years ago). Journeying with Veronica to find her roots was a fascinating read, and the vignettes she kept seeing of the women in the past were engrossing and added even more enjoyment to the story. Really liked this read!

Aimie K. Runyan lives in Colorado. The Wandering Season is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of HarperCollins Focus in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Bane Witch, by Ava Morgyn  

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Title: The Bane Witch
Author: Ava Morgyn        
Genre: Fantasy        
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Piers Corbin has always had an affinity for poisonous things—plants and men. From the pokeweed berries she consumed at age five that led to the accidental death of a stranger, to the husband whose dark proclivities have become… concerning, poison has been at the heart of her story.

But when she fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her volatile marriage and goes to stay with her estranged great aunt in the mountains, she realizes her predilection is more than a hunger—it’s a birthright. Piers comes from a long line of poison eaters—Bane Witches—women who ingest deadly plants and use their magic to rid the world of evil men.

Piers sets out to earn her place in her family’s gritty but distinguished legacy, all while working at her Aunt Myrtle’s cafe and perpetuating a flirtation with the local, well-meaning sheriff to allay his suspicions on the body count she’s been leaving in her wake. But soon she catches the attention of someone else, a serial killer operating in the area. And that only means one thing—it’s time to feed.

I wasn’t too sure about this at first. It started off slow for me—or I had trouble connecting with Piers at first. But somewhere on her flight to the mountains, I became invested in Piers’ story. I actually didn’t care for her aunt or the other Bane Witches at all, and the small-town kind of gave me the creeps, but Piers herself was a joy to read. I may never look at mushrooms the same way again!

Ava Morgyn lives in Houston. The Bane Witch is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Dressmakers of London, by Julia Kelly

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Title:   The Dressmakers of London
Author:  Julia Kelly        
Genre:  Historical fiction   
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

In 1940s Great Britain, plain and awkward Izzie finds comfort in retreating into the safety of the backroom of her mother’s dressmaking shop. The predictable world of stitches, patterns, and fabric has been a sanctuary from the cruel, chaotic world that took her father in a tragic accident years ago.

Her beautiful sister Sylvia was old enough to watch her father’s tragic death force her mother to give up their respectable middle-class home and open a shop to support their family. That’s why, when she meets the sophisticated, wealthy Martin Pearsall, Sylvia isn’t surprised at her mother’s encouragement to seize her chance for a better life, even if it means distancing herself from her family at Martin’s insistence.

When their mother unexpectedly dies, the two sisters are surprised to discover that her will stipulates that they both inherit the dress shop, stirring up old resentments and hurt feelings. However, when conscription forces Izzie to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service in another part of the country, she realizes that Sylvia is the only person who can save the shop from closure. As the sisters begin an ongoing correspondence, they must confront old emotions to forge new beginnings.

I really enjoyed this read! I didn’t have a favorite POV character like I usually do. I loved both Izzie and Sylvia’s storylines and voices. It was so much fun to watch how they both changed and grew into themselves in the course of the story, and as always, Julia Kelly’s writing is lovely and evocative, and her storytelling is engrossing.

Julia Kelly is a bestselling author. The Dressmakers of London is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: A Sea of Unspoken Things, by Adrienne Young

Random House/Delacorte Press.

Title: A Sea of Unspoken Things
Author:  Adrienne Young        
Genre:  Fantasy     
Rating:  4 out 5

The only thing James and Johnny Golden have ever had is each other. For as long as she can remember, James’s deep connection with her twin brother, Johnny, has gone beyond intuition—she can feel what he feels. So, when Johnny is killed in a tragic accident, James knows before her phone even rings that her brother is gone and that she’s alone—truly alone—for the first time in her life.

When James arrives in the rural town of Hawthorne, California to settle her brother’s affairs, she’s forced to rehash the ominous past she and Johnny shared and finally face Micah, the only person who knows about it. He’s also the only man she’s ever loved.

But James soon discovers that the strange connection she had with Johnny isn’t quite gone, and the more she immerses herself into his world, the more questions she has about the brother she thought she knew. Johnny was keeping secrets, and he’s not the only one. What she uncovers will push her to unravel what happened in the days before Johnny’s death, but in the end, she’ll have to decide which truths should come to light, and which should stay buried forever.

I’ve read—and loved—all but one of Adrienne Young’s novels, so I expected to enjoy this one. And I did—I read I straight through in one sitting. She brought Hawthorne to—rather unsettling—life. I don’t like small towns, and this one gave me the creeps, but it was very well-done and believable. That was a fascinating read, and I was eager to find out what was going on. The landscape itself is a character, and a very vivid one, and I enjoyed this story a lot.

Adrienne Young is a bestselling author. A Sea of Unspoken Things is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams, by Karen Hawkins

Image belongs to Gallery Books.

Title:   The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams
Author:  Karen Hawkins        
Genre:  Romance       
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

When an antique tin of love letters is found hidden in her family home, noted historian Tay Dove rushes home to Dove Pond to investigate. Tay is still reeling from a romantic betrayal, so she’s relieved to refocus her energies on her latest project: a biography of her great-great-grandmother Sarafina, a star reporter who began her career in Dove Pond in the late 19th century before abruptly leaving town.

Tay believes the letters could be the key in solving what happened, but they only add to her questions—especially when they reveal a forbidden love affair with William Day, a wild youth who took part in a notorious train robbery. Some answers might be found in eighty-year-old Rose Day’s bookshop, which doubles as a town archive, but Rose is curiously resistant to give Tay access. Just when Tay thinks she’s reached a dead end, she finds an unlikely ally in Rose’s grandson, Luke, a fellow puzzle lover. Together, they set out to uncover what really happened all those years ago…and find the truth behind a love story that could be more precious than gold.

I do love the Dove Pond Books! I enjoyed the first two more than the third one, but I think this one I just as good as those first two. I love the small-town feel of Dove Pond, and the Dove family is just so much fun. I like the dual timelines in this story and found myself engrossed in both of these, although knowing only one of them could have a happy ending. Love this newest installment in this magical series!

Karen Hawkins is bestselling author. The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.)